Vending Biz-Op Scammer Gets 2 Years, Must Pay $500,000 In Restitution

ST. LOUIS -- A Texas man has been sentenced to serve more than two years prison for defrauding a St. Louis woman who invested in his bogus vending machine business. The court has also ordered that he pay nearly $500,000 in restitution.

In May, Randy O'Gorman of Frisco, TX, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud for his role in the vending scam, according to the Associated Press. He was sentenced in early September in St. Louis U.S. District Court.

O'Gorman reportedly convinced the investor to give him $497,000 toward the business and provided her with a list of 800 vending machines that he said it included. Federal prosecutors said that, in reality, those machines did not exist and O'Gorman pocketed the money for his own use, according to the AP report.